Goddess Rising

by Alisha Ashton

  When Taran was finished speaking with their clansmen and they had left the room, he came and stood behind her. “Did ya catch any of tha?” he asked with a smile.

  Skye leaned back and looked up at him skeptically. “Not a single word,” she answered honestly.

  Taran chuckled and kissed her forehead. “Ya really will need to begin your lessons soon, love. Can nah avoid them forever.”

  She rolled her eyes and groaned that he was bringing this up again. Pups were supposed to devote centuries to their ‘studies,’ but she had a hell of a lot more on her plate than the average pup and just did not have the time to learn a new language. So far, she had managed to dodge all of the ancients’ efforts to teach her. Well, aside from Ciaran’s lesson on a few basic words… but he was a very persuasive teacher and he used chocolate syrup drizzled on various parts of his anatomy for her to lick off as an extremely effective rewards system…

  She sighed and declared, “My plan was to hold off until I can figure out a closed captioning spell.”

  Taran huffed in response. “I’ll gather tha means something like a translation spell? Ya may nah be able to use magic to skip over this, wee one. It will take time and effort and it is important. We old ones forget and slip into Gaelic all the time. Ya will nah get far knowing but a handful of words.”

  Skye squinted up at him, deciding this was the perfect opportunity. She glanced over at Ciaran, cluing him in that she was up to trouble before saying, “Okay, fine. You want me to learn Gaelic? Then how about telling me what this means?” She scrunched up her face as she repeated a few of the more colorful-sounding phrases Taran had dropped while she was going down on him.

  Taran’s eyes widened and face reddened guiltily.

  Over by the door, Ruarachan clamped his hand over his mouth as he was suddenly hit with an uncontrollable coughing spell (that sounded suspiciously like choked off laughter.)

  Ciaran grinned ear to bloody ear and sat up straight beside Skye in interest. He draped his arm around her shoulders and beamed with pride. “Yeeaaahhh, Taran. What does tha mean? DO go on and tell the girl. D’ya want her to repeat it?” he asked before turning and coaching her. “Skye, say it again, but this time, make sure ya really enunciate and maybe even growl the words–”

  Taran cleared his throat repeatedly before finally offering, “No, tha’s fine. Perhaps we can wait a bit on the lessons after all.”

  “Mmm-hmm,” Skye said victoriously. She climbed from the bed, heading to the bathroom to get ready and teasing Taran under her breath, “No swearing, my ass!”

  She caught Ruarachan struggling to keep a straight face as he kept his gaze expertly averted.

  Taran followed her into the bathroom, kissing her cheek and nipping playfully at her ear until she laughed. She watched in the mirror as he took his time methodically braiding her long hair. It was something he always took great care in. If he was in the area, she could never take her hair down, wash it, or braid it by herself. She had teased him a few times that he only loved her hair so much because he missed his own, but she could tell the act held a deeper meaning for him than that. It was sacred and reserved for just the two of them. She always meant to ask him about it, but the look of love and devotion in his eyes each time was so powerful that she did not want to ruin the moment with words.

  Ciaran was assed-out, passed-out and snoring by the time they exited the bathroom. Skye leaned down and kissed his cheek before following Taran out into the hall. Ruarachan fell in just a few feet behind them.

  “So, where are we off to this morning, my King?” she asked adoringly once they stepped out of the room. It never got old, calling him that, or having him answer with his pet name for her new title. The only time it did not make her cringe was when it fell from his lips.

  “To meet with the Ashers, my wee Queen,” Taran answered with a wink as he took her arm in his. “They’ve an idea for how to distract from your protection spell tonight – were wanting to go over a few details.”

  Thankfully, they did not need to travel far. The surviving Ashers were all set up in a large, brick-faced, industrial building on the far side of the pack’s waterfront complex. Once the sigils were activated along the perimeter, the Ashers’ new headquarters would be under Skye’s protection, as well.

  They scaled the steps to the entrance and Skye smiled and nodded her head in greeting when a few of the Ashers awkwardly scurried to open the front doors. Having the leaders of the previously incommunicative and mysterious werewolf clan just strolling on through their home base was going to take some serious getting used to.

  Aiyana saw them coming and immediately broke out in a joyful smile. It never failed to brighten her day when she saw the difference in Skye and the way she was so relaxed in Taran’s company. Aiyana was a sucker for a happy ending and, war aside, Skye had certainly received a well-deserved one.

  “Hey, guys! Back here,” Aiyana called from across the lobby. She waved for them to join her as she made her way toward the offices.

  “Hey,” Skye greeted. She glanced around and gave an impressed nod at the way things were coming together. “Wow. You guys seem to be settling in fast. Need anything from us?”

  Aiyana shook her head and laughed. “No, no. You guys have done more than enough. We’re almost finished. Building’s been renovated to our specs with the help of several of your men. All the new furniture is in and setup. We’re just putting the finishing touches on our labs and server rooms now. Should be all set by the end of this weekend.”

  “They’ve a cage, my King,” Ruarachan noted in open disapproval. He cast Taran an annoyed look and pointed down a hall to their side. Taran and Skye turned and, sure enough, off in the distance through heavy glass doors stood a clear, cube-shaped containment cell large enough to park a truck inside.

  “Huh?” Aiyana asked in confusion before following his gaze. “Oh, yeah! That. It’s not for any predetermined purpose. We just make it a habit to have one at every location. Don’t worry,” she assured with a wave of her hand, not seeing any issue with its presence. “It’s not like we’re planning on having a blood-sucking petting zoo at your front door or anything,” she laughed. “We just keep one around in case we ever have to contain a vamp for interrogation. Think of it like a fire extinguisher: we don’t plan on using it, but it’s better to have one handy in case there’s ever a need.”

  Taran’s brows drew together as he turned to face her fully. Seeing the severe look on his and Ruarachan’s faces, it was suddenly inescapably clear to Aiyana that there was an issue with the cell’s presence here. She stood up straighter, struggling not to appear too intimidated by Taran’s calm anger and drastic change in demeanor.

  “Hear me well, Lady Aiyana,” Taran warned evenly as he held her gaze. “For the sake of all your people, see to it tha a blood-drinker is ne’er brought here. The Ashers have been welcomed into our home. Our clan will protect ya from outside threats as if ya were our own kind, but, even as King, I can nah guarantee there would nah be retaliation if such danger were heedlessly brought into the home of our Queen. A faol defending their own – especially defending Sgitheanach – would be an unpredictable, merciless beast. D’ya understand tha?”

  Aiyana’s eyes passed from Taran, to Ruarachan’s deadly gaze, then back. She nodded in complete and total understanding. “Got it,” she answered quietly.

  After another tense moment, Skye intervened and squeezed Taran’s hand purposefully. Taran took a deep, calming breath to shake off his irritation. Ruarachan continued brooding behind him.

  “So… Miko tells me ya are planning to use the guise of a celebration tonight to cover Skye’s spell?” Taran said, changing the subject.

  “Yeah, um, let’s go through here,” Aiyana said, eager to move on from the temporary tension.

  She pushed the doors to a large room full of computers and monitors, and Skye immediately smiled seeing several familiar faces. Granted, she had only ever seen them via video chat, but she was glad to see
they had all survived the start of the war.

  “Skye, Taran, you may remember…” Aiyana began, but Skye was already leaning forward and shaking his hand.

  “Yes, Schrader. We’ve met – albeit virtually,” Skye said.

  “Nice to meet you both in person,” Schrader greeted before shaking Taran’s hand (with only a small bit of terror showing through in his eyes.)

  “What’s the plan?” Skye asked.

  “Well, Aiyana and Miko informed me that you were planning on putting on a light show tonight?” Schrader waited for Skye to nod. “I hacked the city’s permits office and got one on file for ‘display fireworks’ to be used here tonight. Pulled some strings and had a crate of them brought in this morning. We’ll get them setup, just need to work out where to place them, what time they need to be ready by, what the signal will be to set them off… All that detail stuff. Also we had some speakers brought in so we can blast music. Oh, and we’re going to be receiving a couple of truck-loads of booze here shortly. All for show, of course.”

  “Ciaran will take tha as a challenge,” Ruarachan muttered in amusement.

  “For real,” Skye laughed. “That little lush is liable to wipe out the whole order before it even gets offloaded.”

  They finished up ironing out the details and Taran took his leave to head back to the den. Skye stayed behind to catch up with Aiyana for a bit. As Ruarachan followed after Taran, she heard him whistle and point to a few clansmen inside, then over in her direction. She pretended not to notice Onchu, Maon, Luag, and Donnach’s immediate conspicuous arrival in the area. Thankfully, they kept their distance while watching over her.

  The two women walked around the exterior of the buildings and along the riverfront path as they chatted, bringing one another up to speed on their respective groups. Things changed by the minute lately. Even just across the lawn and parking lot from one another, it was easy to fall behind.

  Aiyana mentioned that she and the other Ashers were all still blown away by the fact that Miko was a werewolf. She said that it did seem sort of meant to be, considering how obsessed he had always been with the species. She made an offhand comment about how she was struggling with not seeing Miko constantly, then quickly changed the subject.

  Skye let her. It was plain to see that Aiyana and Miko had strong feelings for one another, but it was also very plainly none of Skye’s goddamned business. The whole ‘will they or won’t they’ thing was far too complicated for her to contemplate as an outsider looking in. It was strictly between them. No one else could weigh out all of the intricate pros and cons, decide what they were willing to risk, or make the decision for them.

  All Skye knew was, if they ever decided to test the waters, she was going to flex her queenly authority and kick the whole ‘faoil must mate for life’ law to the curb for them. That law existed to protect mortal women, to prevent them from wasting their limited time on someone who could not give them children or grow old with them. Aiyana needed no such protection. She was not some starry-eyed mortal falling all over herself for the first supernatural being she met and romanticizing their world after just learning of its existence. Aiyana was fully aware of what it meant to get involved with an immortal. She was also in a line of work that left her largely unburdened by the need to plan for retirement. In Skye’s mind, anyone willingly putting their mortal life on the line to fight evil could sure as shit make their own decisions on how to live that life.

  As they walked, Skye grudgingly broached the subject of her nightmares and the possibility that they were an attack from an outside source. She also let Aiyana know about their upcoming trip to Scotland.

  “As if it wasn’t already busy enough in my head, right?” Skye laughed bitterly. “I’ve got the thoughts of my wolf mixing with my own constantly. It’s not as distracting as it was before my Nasgadh, but my wolf? She is one old, powerful bitch. Any time her thoughts don’t sync up with mine, she lets me know. And ever since I ascended and came into my power, I’ve had to contend with all of the new instincts that came along with it. I swear, it’s like having a third independent voice in my head and sometimes all three are trying to talk over one another.”

  Aiyana watched sympathetically as Skye scratched at her scalp in frustration with both hands, as if she could relieve some of the maddening pressure that way.

  “It’s like there is just too much ME inside my mind, ya know?” Skye blurted out before she began ranting. “I’m constantly bombarded by three sets of thoughts, PLUS everything I pick up thanks to my wolf’s enhanced senses. Sights and scents and sounds… And oh! Let’s not forget, I have her monster-sized sexual appetite. I’m crazy freaking horny all. the. time. I could spend a month in bed with Taran and Ciaran and still dive right back in for more at every opportunity. It’s not as bad as it was when I went into heat, but dear, sweet, fluffy Lord. I mean, don’t get me wrong, sex with them is just… unffff…” Skye moaned and bit the back of her hand.

  “Oh, I can only imagine!” Aiyana snorted. But she wouldn’t. Because that would be weird. And wrong. Or at least, it would be… If she was picturing Taran and Ciaran… But if she picked two other faoil to think about? Maybe a certain unnamed, still tattooed, brand-new pup… And maybe his ancient, muscle-bound chaperone with the pierced nipples… Then she might ‘only imagine’ what it would be like to be the center of a werewolf beefcake sandwich on a nightly basis.

  Aiyana’s eyes glazed over, and lips parted in intrigue at the thought.

  “But if I was mortal? I’d be fucking exhausted,” Skye insisted.

  Aiyana shook her head in an effort to clear her pervy thoughts. She cracked up as she declared, “No, no, lovey – if you were mortal, Ciaran’s freaky, li’l, Irish ass alone would’ve banged you to death the first time he got you naked!”

  “True story,” Skye laughed. “Buuutttt… I’m not mortal,” she sighed. “I’m an immortal ‘were-(my-fine-ass-men-at?)-wolf.’ So, if I see Taran shirtless? Done. Cancel all plans for the day. Ciaran gives me one of his sneaky, little ‘come (fuck-me) hither’ looks? That’s all, folks! And? AND?! On top of all that, now I have new data always pouring into my head from what I pick up with my power. I can feel the energy of every single living being within – I don’t know – a mile? Two? Three? I’ve never tested it. I have links of varying degrees with several of the guys and, if I’m not constantly careful, I can tap into those by accident. It’s all just too much input all at once. I haven’t had a chance to even begin learning how to focus on one thing at a time.” She gripped her forehead and squeezed as she closed her eyes and groaned in exasperation. “So, you see? I am way over capacity. I don’t have any room for anyone else to be poking around in here! No vacancy!”

  Aiyana frowned and shook her head. “Jesus, girl. I can’t even imagine trying to function with all that going on.” After a moment, she cautiously asked, “So… what are these nightmares about?”

  Skye looked away, using the view of the river as a way to avoid Aiyana’s scrutinizing gaze. “Nothing pleasant,” she assured bitterly.

  “Such as…?” Aiyana pressed.

  Skye sighed. She had already decided not to answer when her traitorous mouth started spilling details. “Everything that scares me,” she admitted. “Losing Taran again. Losing everyone. Going back to the way things were…”

  …when I was still alone, she finished in her mind. She stopped and leaned on the guardrail overlooking the river. It took considerable effort to swallow past the fast-rising lump in her throat. She absolutely refused to cry. Freaking Aiyana with her big, brown, puppy dog, soulful, sympathetic, compassionate, understanding eyes. How did she always do this shit to her? And why in God’s name did Skye keep going back for more knowing this might happen?

  “And it’s not just nightmares anymore,” she managed to say through suddenly-trembling lips.

  Mother fuck she really was going to cry.

  Abort mission! Stop talking!

  Walk away fast before…

&
nbsp; “It’s hallucinations now, too,” she admitted.

  …that happens. Ugghhhh.

  “That’s why we’re going to Sorcha for help. Because, honestly? I can’t tell what’s real and what’s not lately. I feel like… like I’m losing my mind.” She looked down at her feet, unable to see them past the tears welling up in her eyes as she somehow managed to choke out, “Again.”

  She cleared her throat and dragged her hand roughly over her face. It was a useless attempt to wipe away the rush of tears that had followed her confession. Losing her shaky hold on her sanity was one of Skye’s greatest fears. The fact that she was still functional after the things she had survived was not a miracle – it was the direct result of her diligent, daily efforts. It was a constant, exhausting, behind-the-scenes struggle to keep the crazy at bay. The cruelest torture she could imagine was having someone strip away her ability to differentiate between reality and the horrors in her head.

  Aiyana studied Skye in silence for a long moment. She knew there was nothing to say. No kind words or pretty lies would make things better. Skye was hurting, and she had very legitimate reasons to hurt. Anything Aiyana could say would unjustly diminish the rightfulness of that pain’s existence. So, Aiyana did the next logical thing…

  Skye’s eyes went wide. GOD DAMN IT! she shrieked in her mind as she was pulled into a hug. She ground her teeth and fought to breathe past the urge to bawl. She was thankful that her back was to the den, at least.

  Aiyana just held on tight and waited while Skye’s body went from entirely rigid, to mostly stiff, to somewhat malleable as she shook with a few silent sobs. After a long moment, she brought her arms up and returned the embrace.

  When Skye managed to get her breathing back under control, she released her hold on Aiyana and quickly stepped away. She cleared her aching throat as she turned back to the path and started walking again, not wanting to face Aiyana until the evidence of her tears was not so obvious. “Anyway, so I hear you are thinking of sitting with Miko for his first change?” she asked in an effort to change the subject.